For 43 years, Mike Parker has been a mainstay at the Victoria Golf Club.
In 1969, Parker was looking for a job at a golf course and he walked into the Victoria Golf Club. It just so happened that head professional Paul Trapp was losing an assistant.
"The next day Paul [Trapp] phoned me in Nanaimo and asked if I could start tomorrow,'' said the 63-year-old Parker. "I got lucky as I was at the right place at the right time.''
Back in those days, Parker had to work at the club for a year before he could apply to the PGA to become a member.
In 1984, when Trapp retired, Parker became the head professional and he is still going strong.
During his time at the club, he has rubbed shoulders with the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Pamela Anderson, Gov. Gen. Ray Hnatyshyn and Bob Hope.
"Being the head professional at Victoria has opened a lot of doors for me,'' said Parker. "I've had the opportunity to meet and play golf with some very interesting people. I've also played on some of the best courses in the world like Pebble Beach, St. Andrews and the San Francisco Golf Club.
"Most of the people from our general membership have also been very interesting. I met Ernie Watt who was a pilot in the First World War. He had an encounter with the Red Baron and when they saw him, they were told to fly away. The Red Baron wasn't that great of a pilot but he had a great airplane. Ernie [Watt] flew away and he lived to tell about it.''
For his outstanding contribution to the PGA of B.C. over an extended period of time, Parker will be given the PGA of B.C. Lifetime Achievement Award Monday at the Victoria Golf Club. The dinner will take place after the first round of the Canada PGA of B.C. Club Professional Championship.
"This honour came right out of the blue,'' said Parker. "It is nice to be recognized by your peers. The first question I asked was why am I getting this award. I have always just tried being myself and doing the best that I could. I tried to be creative and treat everyone, including the staff, with respect.
"I plan on staying here as long as I am capable of doing the job. My health is good and it is a great place to work at.''
Some of the people Parker has mentored over the years are Jim Goddard (his first assistant), Tara Roden, Chris Herkel, Dale Broughton and the Victoria club's current general manager and executive professional, Scott Kolb. Goddard is now the director of golf at Cordova Bay while Roden went on to become the first female head professional in B.C.
"Golf has been successful because you can have a CEO from a big company playing with a retired person and just enjoying the game. The handicap system levels the playing field, so it is just you and me against the golf course.''
In 2007, Parker teamed up with Victoria Golf Club champion Craig Doell to win the PGA of B.C. Tournament of Champions. Parker also played briefly on the Canadian Tour.
There are 43 golfers playing in the two-round Club Professional Championship. The starting tee times Monday are 11: 30 a.m. and on Tuesday, they begin at 7: 30 a.m.
Some of the contenders in the field, which is open to head professionals and executive professionals (general managers), are Goddard, Rob Anderson from the Kelowna Golf Club, Kevin Maxwell from Olympic View, Kevin Black from Port Hardy, Bill Kelly from Glacier Greens in Comox and Alan Palmer from the Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club in Vancouver.
Anderson is the brother of former LPGA player Gail Graham from Kelowna.
Jim Wiggins from Whitehorse will also be making the trip to Victoria.
"With this year's event here, it attracts a lot of golfers who will make a special effort to come,'' said Parker. "This is such a special course that people want to play it.''
